Guardar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb guardar means to keep, to save, to put away, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full guardar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo guardo el dinero en el banco. — "I put away money in the bank."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for guardar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The guardar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for guardar. The gerund is guardando and the past participle is guardado.

Person Form
yo guardo
tú guardas
él/ella/Ud. guarda
nosotros/as guardamos
vosotros/as guardáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. guardan

The gerund guardando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy guardando, I am putting away), and the past participle guardado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he guardado, I have put away).

How the present tense of guardar is formed

Start with the infinitive guardar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem guard-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

guardar is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: guardáis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: guardo on its own means both "I put away" and "I am putting away" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of guardar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about putting things away: books on a shelf, clothes in a wardrobe, everything in its place.

  • Yo guardo el dinero en el banco. — "I put away money in the bank."
  • Tú guardas los libros en la estantería. — "you put away the books on the shelf."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about keeping money in the bank or saving it for later.

  • Él guarda la ropa en el armario. — "he/she puts away the clothes in the wardrobe."
  • Nosotros guardamos las llaves en un lugar seguro. — "we put away the keys in a safe place."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about keeping a secret: guardar un secreto is a very common expression.

  • Vosotros guardáis las fotos en una caja. — "you (all) put away the photos in a box."
  • Ellos guardan todo en su sitio. — "they put away everything in its place."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él guarda la ropa en el armario. — "he/she puts away the clothes in the wardrobe."
  • Nosotros guardamos las llaves en un lugar seguro. — "we put away the keys in a safe place."

Guardar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo guardo el dinero en el banco. — "I put away money in the bank."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy guardando el dinero en el banco. — "I am putting away money in the bank."

  • Present (habit): Tú guardas los libros en la estantería. — "you put away the books on the shelf."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás guardando los libros en la estantería. — "you are putting away the books on the shelf."

  • Present (habit): Él guarda la ropa en el armario. — "he/she puts away the clothes in the wardrobe."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está guardando la ropa en el armario. — "he/she is putting away the clothes in the wardrobe."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say guardo every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy guardando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of guardar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Guardo el dinero en el banco. — "I put the money in the bank."
  2. Mi madre guarda los libros en la estantería. — "My mother puts the books on the shelf."
  3. Ayer guardé las fotos en una caja. — "Yesterday I put the photos away in a box."
  4. De niña, guardaba todo en su sitio. — "As a girl, I used to put everything in its place."
  5. Mañana guardaré la ropa en el armario. — "Tomorrow I will put the clothes away in the wardrobe."
  6. Si pudiera, guardaría un secreto para siempre. — "If I could, I would keep a secret for ever."
  7. Él guarda las fotos en una caja. — "he/she puts away the photos in a box."
  8. Nosotros guardamos todo en su sitio. — "we put away everything in its place."

Common mistakes with guardar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo guarda el dinero en el banco.

Wrong: Yo guarda el dinero en el banco.

Right: Yo guardo el dinero en el banco.

The yo form ends in -o: guardo. Guarda is the él/ella form.

2. Guardo un secreto para siempre is wrong because guardar means only to keep objects.

Wrong: Guardo un secreto para siempre is wrong because guardar means only to keep objects.

Right: Guardo un secreto para siempre.

No, that sentence is correct: guardar un secreto is the standard way to say to keep a secret. Guardar covers objects, money and secrets.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo guardo el dinero en el banco.

Right: Ayer yo guardé el dinero en el banco.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: guardé. The present guardo describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros guardais el dinero en el banco.

Right: Vosotros guardáis el dinero en el banco.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: guardáis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on guardar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ el dinero en el banco
    • a) guardo
    • b) guardas
    • c) guarda
    • d) guardamos
  2. Tú ___ los libros en la estantería
    • a) guardo
    • b) guarda
    • c) guardamos
    • d) guardas
  3. Él ___ la ropa en el armario
    • a) guardas
    • b) guardamos
    • c) guarda
    • d) guardo
  4. Nosotros ___ las llaves en un lugar seguro
    • a) guarda
    • b) guardamos
    • c) guardo
    • d) guardas
  5. Vosotros ___ las fotos en una caja
    • a) guardáis
    • b) guardo
    • c) guardas
    • d) guarda
  6. Ellos ___ todo en su sitio
    • a) guardo
    • b) guardas
    • c) guarda
    • d) guardan
  7. Yo ___ el dinero en el banco
    • a) guarda
    • b) guardamos
    • c) guardo
    • d) guardas
  8. Tú ___ los libros en la estantería
    • a) guardamos
    • b) guardas
    • c) guardo
    • d) guarda

Answers

  1. a) guardo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) guardas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) guarda — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) guardamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) guardáis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) guardan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) guardo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) guardas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about guardar in the present

Does guardar mean to put away or to keep?

Both. Guardar means to put something away in its place (guardo los libros) and to keep something safe (guardo un secreto, guardo el dinero).

Is guardar regular?

Yes, guardar is a regular -ar verb: guardo, guardas, guarda, guardamos, guardáis, guardan.

Is guardar regular in the present?

Yes. guardar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem guard- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example guardo.

What are the gerund and the past participle of guardar?

The gerund is guardando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy guardando), and the past participle is guardado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he guardado).

How to remember guardar

Four small habits will fix guardar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: guardo, guardas, guarda, guardamos, guardáis, guardan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (guardo), one about yesterday with the preterite (guardé), and one about tomorrow with the future (guardaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from esconder: Guardar is putting something away in its proper place; esconder is hiding it so nobody finds it. Guardas los libros en la estantería, pero escondes las llaves en el cajón. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund guardando and the past participle guardado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy guardando) and the present perfect (he guardado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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